Posts and podcast episodes covering auto racing history.
This May 17, 2025, the Preakness Stakes will draw horse racing fans worldwide for the 150th race in its storied history. Every year, the event brings together powerful horses, passionate fans, and a unique atmosphere that’s hard to beat. But beyond the high-speed action, there’s a rich history behind the race that makes it even … Read more
1991 was a great year for the Newman-Haas Racing Team. Our driver, Michael Andretti, had a magnificent season — 8 race wins, 8 pole positions and nearly 1,000 laps led. The 1991 season-ending race was held at Laguna Seca, California. Mike won the pole position, the Marlboro Challenge and lead every lap of the race … Read more
Norman “Bubby” Jones was an American short-track racing icon, an open-wheel master whose trail of victories dotted the map and led him, ultimately, to the Indianapolis 500. A genuine blue-collar driver, Jones for a time supplemented his racing income with part-time wages earned as a barber in his native Danville, Illinois. But once his career … Read more
In the seventh episode of “Tim Coffeen Talks Indy Car and Racing History,” Tim looks back at his relationship with driver Jan Opperman, an American racing legend who left us way too soon. Opperman was a competitive racer, but also a man of the cloth, and those two seemingly opposite interests were quite unusual in … Read more
In retirement, do we always seek the refuge of our favorite golf course or the comfort of that familiar rocking chair? While Tim Coffeen has retired from Indy Car racing, he has never truly retired from the challenge of working on race cars. In Tim’s case, rocking chairs and golf clubs have been replaced by … Read more